RoRo Shipping vs Container Shipping. What’s the Difference?

As an international car shipping company, many people ask, “What’s the BEST way to ship a car overseas?” The answer will depend on what the objective is. There are two major ways to ship a car overseas from the United States.

RoRo Shipping – This form of car shipping requires the vehicle to “Roll on Roll off” the ramp. Use this car shipping method if only one car needs to be shipped. Nothing can be inside the car except for the jack and spare tire. Normally this is cheaper than shipping by container.

Container Shipping – Use this car shipping method if sending additional items inside the trunk or the backseat of the car. A person can “share” a container with someone else to cut costs or get an “exclusive” container where the person can use the FULL container to ship items in addition to the car. Normally this is more expensive than RoRo.

The car shipping methods are normally the same for many countries. The departure ports for both RoRo and Container car shipping normally depart all major shipping ports across the United States. Shipping times will vary depending on where the car is being shipped, but sometimes it is cheaper to wait a little longer. For instance, if someone wants to ship a car to Germany, there is a departure port in Long Beach, California. The ship will take a longer time to get to Germany, but it is cheaper than having the car shipped across the US then catch the boat from the East Coast. The way to find the most suitable method is to fill out the Quote Form.

There is a third car shipping method called Air Shipping, but it is extremely rare for us to use it because it is cost prohibitive for nearly everyone.